


Resort Date

by KokoLockhart



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Naminé making his heart go ba-boom, Riku being awkward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:54:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24323884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KokoLockhart/pseuds/KokoLockhart
Summary: After getting two free tickets from the King to go to a resort park he owned, Riku finally fights out of his comfort zone and asks Naminé out on a date! All he needed to do was not act like a buffoon... and figure out this confession thing.
Relationships: Naminé & Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Naminé/Riku (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29





	Resort Date

Riku nervously stood outside, hands cramming in and then out of his pockets whilst he waited for Naminé. She had moved in with Xion a few weeks after their reunion party in Destiny Island. It would have made sense if Kairi was the first one to take her in, but since she had been put to sleep in hopes to find Sora, Xion offered her a place to stay for the time being. Though, it was most likely becoming permanent as Naminé and Xion had been getting along well.

Staring down at the two tickets in his hands, Riku's mind wandered back from yesterday. He asked Mickey if one of the resorts he owned would be open. He'd never been there himself, even though it wasn't so far off from the shore of the island. He figured that since his bond with the King was one that of a father and son, he'd get away with snagging two free tickets from him. Of course, Mickey didn't mind at all and gave them to him to which Riku sheepishly couldn't thank him enough for.

Though, it did pile on the question as to _why_ he wanted two tickets and not just one for himself. It could've easily been mistaken as a friendly outing, which it technically was in Riku's mind... _at that moment,_ but the knowing and slightly sly gazes from Mickey and Minnie were there and Riku knew it was just impossible to let his guard down about it. They saw how he kept looking at Naminé back on the island and there _was_ a reason why he wanted to pick her up from Radiant Garden other than to comply with his other self's wishes.

They kept it a secret, Mickey giving him some encouragement and Minnie suggesting the best spots of the resort that Naminé may like. Riku noted them all down and went back to calling Naminé through Xion's gummiphone. He wasn't the best with words, especially when it came to asking her if she would like to hang out. After a bunch of stammers, sighs and giggling from _other_ occupants in the background, Naminé happily said she would love to, immediately flushing down his doubts.

He went for a casual fit. A black jacket over a grey hoodie with matching black pants and shoes. It wasn't much but... he thought he looked okay. Sora and Kairi would be laughing and teasing him right now for being so worked up on this. He was a keyblade master yet he wasn't a master at... dates? Should he call it that? If anything, it was just a friendly outing with Naminé... who he liked, _very much_.

He rolled his eyes. 

Okay, it was a date. _So what?_

"Riku?"

Riku startled out of his thoughts and looked up to see Naminé standing a foot away from him, her head tilted as she looked at him questioningly.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice soft and concerned.

His eyes dawned on her outfit. He came to realise he'd never seen her wear anything else but her usual white dress and blue sandals, something he admittedly loved seeing her in. It was just so... _her._

What she was wearing right now took some time for him to process. She wore a long white coat over a yellow dress and black boots. A tiny white bag was clutched between her hands.

_And he could not stop staring._

It was when Naminé leaned her head down to him that Riku finally snapped out of it. "W-What?"

"Hi," Naminé pulled away and greeted him with a bemused smile.

Riku blinked and quickly cleared his throat, his cheeks warming up a little as he mustered back his best smile. "Hey."

"Are you okay?" she repeated her question, "Have you caught the flu? Your face has gone red..."

Wow. _She really had no idea why._

"No, it's not that. Uh," Riku scratched the back of his head before straightening up, "I just didn't have much sleep last night, that's all. But I'm fine. Really."

Naminé's brows furrowed in small worry but didn't question any further at his answer. "If you're sure..." She then beamed at him again, "Thank you for taking me out, Riku. It was nice going around Twilight Town with Roxas and Xion but I haven't been anywhere beyond that so far, so I'm really happy."

A dazzling smile shone across Naminé's face and Riku felt like he was going to die.

_Don't faint, don't faint, don't faint you dolt._

"N-No problem," he grinned at her, hoping it wasn't obvious that his heart was about to burst out of his chest as he nodded off to the direction they were to be heading, "C'mon. Our train will be here soon."

She nodded excitedly and followed, Riku finding himself enjoying the giddy bounces of her steps as she walked beside him.

...

As they got off the platform, Riku led the way out of the station but made sure he stayed close to Naminé so he wouldn't lose her. He noticed how nervous she was when they boarded the train and he couldn't blame her. It was busy. And knowing how long Naminé had been locked away with the Organisation and Kairi's heart, she wasn't used to being so surrounded.

His mind went glum at the thought, knowing the feeling all too well. However, that didn’t matter. Not anymore.

Once they were out of the station, he heard Naminé let out the breath she apparently was holding as she sent him a meek look. "Sorry, that was really intense for me."

"It's fine," Riku assured her, "We can take a breather if you want."

Naminé shook her head. "I'm all right, Riku. Don't worry about me. Plus," her eyes lit up when she looked on ahead, "That's the resort King Mickey owns, right?"

He followed her gaze and stared at the castle decorating the landmark. _You always loved overdoing it with the decorations, right your majesty?_ "Yeah, it is," he set his eyes back at her with a smile, "Perks being friends with the King, huh?"

A delicate laugh escaped her lips, lingering Riku's ears for a moment. "Oh yes, definitely."

They walked toward the ticket counter and when it was their turn to be checked in, Riku dug out their tickets and held them out to the counter lady.

"Is that your girlfriend?" she quietly asked him, a teasing glint in her eyes, "How wonderful."

He panicked, quickly glancing to the side and was relieved that Naminé's attention was on the roller coasters. One had to take the embarrassment and that needed to be him. "She's just a friend," he whispered hastily.

However, the lady only gave him a smug knowing look and Riku blushed, awkwardly avoiding her gaze as they were given wrist bands and access to the entrance.

They got to the centre of the park and stopped to look around. "Where do you want to go?" Riku asked, somewhat hesitant. Why did that lady have to be so nosy? His stress levels were already skyrocketing. 

Naminé hummed, oblivious to his nervousness as she observed the area. "There's a map over there. Should we look at it first?"

They headed over to where the large map frame was and Riku let her pick where they should go first. The place was huge and there were so many things to do. It was actually a little overwhelming. He wondered how much munny Mickey put down to get this resort up in gear. _Probably too much to even bother counting._

"Oh! There's an art shop too," Naminé noticed and looked at him hopefully, "Can we go there first? I just remembered I needed to buy a few supplies."

Riku laughed at that, remembering her love for drawing quite vividly. It was going to be one of the places he’d take her to anyway. "Sure, we can go. And then how about," he looked at the map and pointed at one of the roller coaster rides, "I'd take it you've never been on one so we can go there next."

After they went and left the art shop, Naminé put a few things she bought away in her bag and the two walked off to the waiting line of the ride Riku suggested they'd go on. As they waited in line, he watched as the rollercoaster zoomed past in front of them. It made him excited. The last time he'd been on one was with Sora and Kairi and that felt like a lifetime ago.

Though, he did remember Kairi being nervous to go on it the first time. _He wondered if..._

Riku turned his head to Naminé, seeing her eyes falter for a split second. However, when she noticed she was looking at him, she quickly smiled but he saw the small quiver gnawing against her lips.

"Naminé..." Riku didn't want to do something she wasn't comfortable with, "We don't have to go on it if you don't want to. We can go on some of the slower rides if that's what you'd like?"

"Oh, no. It's fine, Riku," she said and tightened the grip on her bag with a reassuring look, "It's not that I don't want to go on it, I do! It's just..." Naminé turned her head slightly to look back at the ride, "We won't fall... will we?"

He stifled a laugh and shook his head. "No, we won't. They always make sure to do safety checks before anything else."

Naminé nodded in relief, her worries fading. "Okay, that's good."

Once it was their turn, they got seated on the front of the cart as their seat belts got fastened around their hips. Riku could tell Naminé was still nervous before saying, "Hey, we still have time before we start moving. If you don't want to be in, I could tell-"

"No," she softly cut him off, taking a deep breath as she smiled at him, "I-I'm good. I want to experience this, Riku. Xion was telling me about how much fun it is to be in one of these, so I really don't want to miss this chance."

Riku blinked at her and then laughed. "Well, okay. And I promise you, it _will_ be fun."

Once the people behind them were ready, the track started to slowly move up. They held the railing in front of them, the rush of excitement filling Riku with nostalgia and anticipation. He glanced at Naminé and was relieved she was feeling the same, her blue eyes lighting up with more emotion that he ever seen her had in them.

When their cart reached the top, the both of them had no time to react as it went rushing down. Riku closed his eyes and pulled his arms back, cheering along with the crowd as they went into loops and many turns. He couldn't remember how many times they went around, but he didn't focus on it as much as the ride sped up along the resort.

When the ride was stopping and going back to its drop off spot, Riku chuckled to himself as the thrill from it was still there. Just as people were starting to get off, his stomach dropped as he forgot about the one most important thing.

He quickly looked to his side to see Naminé had been gripping onto the railing in front of them, her eyes wide and her mouth agape. He was so into his own excitement that he had completely forgotten about the blonde girl sitting next to him. "N-Naminé?" Riku called out, starting to think this was a bad idea after all.

Her cheeks were flushed when she blinked out of her trance and looked at him. Riku feared for the worst but was surprised when her face lit up, her eyes practically beaming, taking him completely off guard.

"That was amazing," Naminé finally breathed out before repeating more excitedly, "That was amazing, Riku!"

Riku blinked and then blinked again until her laughter ringed his ears. He found his tightening worrying chest... easing at the sound of it. He liked it.

He wanted to hear more of her laugh.

His lips finally curled into a cheeky grin as he laughed with her. "It was!" he exclaimed, watching her beam again at him as he felt his own cheeks blooming, "I-I'm happy you enjoyed it."

_Stupid stutter!_

She was so happy right now... and her smiles were becoming so contagious... _and bad for his health._

As they got off, Riku offered his hand to help her down and went to retrieve their belongings. “Where would you like to go next?” he asked her when they began walking around again. 

He didn’t hear her respond right away and felt silence. He glanced at his peripheral, thinking she was just looking around first but found she wasn’t there. A quick sense of dread filled him again as he thought he lost her but when the blue haired spun around, he saw that she stopped in front of one of the gift shops. 

“Naminé?” Riku called.

Naminé bit her lip before looking at him, smiling. “I’ll be right back.”

Riku watched as she disappeared into the shop. He wondered if he should just go follow her, but opted to stay outside instead. It was one of the small gift shops so he didn’t have to worry about her getting lost in it thankfully. He was enough of a worry wart right now. He didn’t want to make it seem as if he was breathing down her neck all the time. 

But… in his own defence, he couldn’t blame himself. Naminé wasn’t weak by all means, but she was _new_ to everything. This type of lifestyle. She was bound to be distracted by things that could put her in risk without even knowing. Riku didn’t want to be cliché and call himself her knight and shining armor, but Naminé had been _alone_ for a long time and he wanted to fulfill all those gaps of what she had missed out on and that also meant protecting her from… _weirdos._

 _And…_ because he liked her.

Yeah, he wasn’t going to beat around the bush in his head to say it. He liked Naminé, he liked Naminé, he _liked_ -

“Dozing off again?”

Riku flinched, almost tripping off his own two feet as he quickly followed the source of Naminé’s voice. He turned his head to see her stifling a laugh behind her hand. 

“Riku, are you thinking too much again?” she asked him, her head slightly tilted. 

He winced.

“Sorry...” Riku apologised and then noticed the small pink paper bag in her grip, “What did you buy?”

“Oh,” Naminé reached down and held out a pair of mouse ears attached onto a headband with a polka-dotted bow, “I saw Xion have these so I wanted to get them too!” She set her bag down and smoothed out some of her hair before slipping it on her head, gracefully highlighting her face.

And he watched her.

For the lack of anything he could comprehend, _he watched her._ Completely locked in his spot. This was the… third time he caught himself just staring at her out of sheer mesmerisation. Why? Why was she still with him right now when he was acting completely out of his comfort zone. There was no way she could find him appealing after practically gawking at her for the most simplest of things. 

The tension was thick but her voice delicately broke it as she reached out another item from her bag. “I thought you'd like one as well.”

Riku looked at the pair of ears with a blink. “Me?”

“Yeah,” her smile faltered a little, “U-Unless you don’t want to?” 

That definitely wasn’t an option. He had seen the prices on these things and they weren’t cheap. Riku took them in his hand and hesitantly slipped them on, giving her a shy glance, “How do I look?” 

With a light grin, she said, “Sweet.”

That was all he needed to hear for his heart to rapidly start booming inside his chest. Yup. _He was going to die._

Clearing his throat, Riku ignored how warm it suddenly was. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Riku,” Naminé smiled now that they were matching, “I forgot to mention this to you, but I really like your new haircut.”

“Oh… you do?”

She nodded, giving him a bemused look. “Mhm. I think it suits you a little better now that I can see your eyes properly, you know?”

Riku ran some of his fingers through his shortened bangs. “I guess so. They don’t poke at my eyes anymore either.”

"That's too bad. We would kind of look like each other if you hadn't."

They shared a short laugh together before Riku looked on ahead. “So, what do you want to do now?” 

“I guess we can go on another ride before grabbing a bite to eat?” Naminé hummed before looking at him sheepishly, “I kind of want to go on the one with the ponies. They look really cute.”

They went to the ride she was talking about and while it was mostly aimed for a younger audience, Riku was relieved that it still didn’t deter them away from it. He was sure he was the tallest out of the group that went on, but he didn’t get any weird looks thankfully. He was mostly paying attention to Naminé as he watched her enjoy going around in circles with her pony. 

When they were at the food court for lunch, Riku insisted he’d pay for the food since he hadn’t burned out any of his munny yet. Naminé didn’t argue about that… as much. She checked how much she had left over and Riku knew it wasn’t even enough to pay for a small snack. The art supplies and the ears had hefty price tags on them so he ushered her to find a spot for them to eat whilst he ordered their food. 

He knew that commenting on someone’s appetite wasn’t the most appropriate thing in the world but…

Naminé probably had one of the biggest appetites he’d ever seen. She had him order two double cheese burgers with large fries, two large pieces of chocolate chip cookies and a pot of mint chocolate ice cream. It looked ridiculous next to his own small cheeseburger, fries and drink. She politely chomped her way down everything as they began to conversate with one another and Riku couldn’t hold in his amusement. Only Naminé could eat so much and not get a smear of food on her face. The way she handled her food was so delicate and- _okay. That’s enough, Riku. You sound like a freak._

Once they had eaten and conversed some more, they wandered around the resort again and Riku wanted to help Naminé win a small stuffed Moogle she saw in a darts game. However, she outplayed his thoughts again as she impressively managed to score enough points to win one as she had thrown all the darts in the middle of the board. Riku found himself staring in complete awe. Her aims had been _perfect_ and not _one_ had been missed. Her concentration was really… _something._ It actually made him sheepishly back out from playing when it was his turn. There was no way he could outdo _that._

If she had good concentration then maybe training her into a keyblade wielder wouldn’t be so bad after all. He’ll have to talk to Yensid about that when he was able to. _Maybe_ **_he_ ** _could train her…_

That was for another time though.

After another round of roller coasters and mini games, the both of them settled against the railing near the beach, the evening ocean and sunset staring back at them. 

They were so quiet that Riku almost hadn’t heard Naminé asking, “How’s Kairi?” 

He stiffened before looking at her. Her eyes were full of sympathy… _worry._ Riku dragged his gaze towards the beach again, his lids closing ever so slightly. “She’s still asleep. We’re still… Trying to find Sora,” he felt his lips thinning before he shook his head, “Still no luck yet.”

Naminé nodded and followed his gaze. “I hope we find him soon,” she said and then joked lightly, “He still hasn’t thanked me yet.”

Riku snorted under his breath. “I’ll make sure he says it properly when we bring him back.”

“Thank you,” she smiled and then glanced back at him again, another dose of worry filling her features, “How are you coping, Riku?”

The question caught him off guard for a moment. “What?”

“Sora and Kairi they’ve…” Naminé paused, the wind picking up, “You feel alone without them here, don’t you?”

Riku swallowed, looking at her without saying anything. He didn’t know if his expression, _anything_ on his face said something but Naminé caught on and just waited with a patient smile. The shores were the only thing he could hear as he suddenly felt heavy, the small lump on his throat forming. “I do,” he finally spoke, his voice quiet, “I…” Riku stopped himself as he cleared his throat, “I try not to think about it that much because I _know_ they’ll come back… It’s just-”

“You don’t know when?” she finished off for him. 

“...Right.”

“It’s hard to tell… I don’t want to give you slim hope, Riku. That’s not who I am but…” Naminé sighed softly and pressed her hand against his forearm, “I know you don’t give up easily and I know you’re determined to bring them back to everyone,” her smile widened, “As long as you trust the both of them, then they’ll be fine.” 

He let out the breath he didn’t know he had been holding, a sigh of _relief._ She had the best way with words, didn’t she? The heaviness he felt from his chest slowly faded away and Riku felt light again. He gave her a nod, her thankful smile plastering his lips as the both of them looked towards the shore again. 

He wasn’t going to let go of Sora and Kairi. _Ever._ Kairi _will_ wake up again and they _will_ find Sora. It was just a matter of time…

There was no point sobbing about it when he knew he'd bring them back. No matter _what_ it took.

He bottled it up for so long and it’d only been a month… It was nice talking about it with someone that wasn’t the King. If anyone knew what being alone really meant, Naminé would truly understand.

The wind picked up again and Riku took the chance to glance to the side at his blonde companion, just in time to see her hair moving along with the movement of the wind. He watched as she peered down, her hand moving a strand over her ear before she closed her eyes with a smile.

His mouth slipped before he could even stop it. “I fulfilled Replica’s wish.”

Naminé shot her head up at him in surprise. “Wish?”

“When you woke up, I sort of fought with Roxas and Terra because I wanted to be the one to pick you up from Radiant Garden,” he said, a blush escaping past his cheeks, “I wanted to do it for the other me.”

Riku’s eyes suddenly widened when he realised how _wrong_ that sounded. No. He wanted to fulfill his other self’s wishes to guide Naminé, yes. However, he didn’t suddenly want to be her Prince Charming _just_ because of that, no. He didn’t want her to have the wrong idea. 

She spoke before he could say anything though and surprisingly, there was no disappointment, no offence in her tone from her expression. “Is that so? I didn’t know…” Naminé’s lips curled once more, “That was sweet of you to do that for him.”

He quickly looked away, because his face was _really_ starting to heat up as he admitted, “I… didn’t do it just for him,” Riku muttered but he was sure she heard him anyway, “He probably already knew even before he told me to, I just never said it out aloud,” he sighed, running his hand down his hair out of habit again whilst dipping his eyes down onto the floor, taking a breather before repeating, “I did it for him but not _just_ for him, I… did it because I _wanted_ to as well. I played rock, paper and scissors against Roxas and Terra and won… but even if I didn’t win I still would have tried to pick you up myself either way. It sounds silly but-” Riku vigorously shook his head, “Scratch that. It _was_ silly and-”

He flinched when he felt Naminé’s hand on his arm again and turned to look at her. 

What he _didn’t_ expect was her to go onto her tip toes and plant a chaste kiss against his cheek.

Riku stiffened in his spot, his shoes dug and pinned onto the ground. Layers and layers of heat coated his face and his palms suddenly felt sweaty as he gaped at her, stammering out a pathetic, “...W-What?”

Naminé pulled away with a laugh. “You were rambling,” she said and gently held his hand with her own, “You don’t need to exert yourself, Riku. I already know.”

He felt his eyes bulging out for a second before asking uneasily, “Know… what?”

“When I was inside Kairi’s heart, I felt the affection she had for Sora and saw how he would react when he was with her,” she grinned at the memory, “He would get flustered whenever she would do as little as lean close to him or smile at him. He was good with actions, but never his words when it came to her,” Naminé let out a chuckle and sent him a bemused look, “You’ve just proven to me that you’re the same.”

It was like he was a deer caught in its headlights because _what?_

The entire time, she knew. _She knew how he felt about her-_

Crap. _How was he still standing upright after that?_

For some reason… he could just _hear_ the sounds of his Replica laughing at him.

_How humiliating._

“Riku?”

He snapped out of his daze and steadied his eyes on her, letting her squeeze his hand. “Sorry,” he stammered and cleared his throat once more, but it was as dry as it could get, “I… Sorry,” he repeated sheepishly, not knowing what else to say. 

“It’s okay,” she squeezed his hand again in hopes to calm him down, “Are you all right?”

 _Was he?_ His stomach was doing its own constant flips and his mind was racing and his chest felt really tight-

 _Breathe, stupid._ **_Breathe!_ **

Riku finally let out a jittery exhale. “Y-Yeah…”

This time, she was the one who blushed. “W-Was I too forward?”

“No!” he quickly countered, making the both of them flinch. Their faces were practically matching each other's colour now. 

Silence.

And then…

“I’m sorry,” they both said. 

Naminé jumped to the opportunity first. “For what?”

“For being so bad at this,” Riku said before he sighed, looking down at the ground and then slowly up at her again, “I thought it’d be easy to confess that…” He stopped, taking one more breather as he ignored every other restraint from his body, “I… like you.”

She bit the corner of her lip, her cheeks still rosy. She was just as nervous. “It takes a lot of willpower to say something like that, hm?”

Riku nodded in agreement. “A lot.”

The wind kept blowing in their direction and they just stood there, gazes locked into each other’s eyes and hands still intertwined. The silence was welcomed this time, their blushing cheeks matching each other’s again as they stifled out quiet doses of laughter, the awkwardness gradually fading.

“Should we start making our way back?” she asked after a while, pulling away. 

“Yeah, it’s getting late,” he said and began leading the way again. Though, he stopped before he spun back at her. Riku grinned and then pulled out his hand, “Might as well do it the right way, huh?”

Naminé smiled back at him, reaching for his hand as she nodded. “Yeah.”

**Author's Note:**

> words cannot describe how much i half-assed the hell out of this.


End file.
